Hot Weather affect on Lead Acid Batteries

[OnTheRoadAgain]

Generally speaking, it is said that Lead Acid batteries last longer stored and used at around 77F ambient temperature.
And that for every 15 degrees F above that, battery life is reduced by 50%

So at 92F ambient, your Lead Acid batter will have it's life cut in half.

South Florida, South Texas and other places have daily temperatures at or above this regularly in spring summer and fall months.

Since all my Lead Acid batteries are kept in an air conditioned garage, I don't really have any experience with how they do over time if kept out in the heat.
I do have a 12v 80Ah Lead Acid battery that I keep in my car so it won't be too long until I can measure the effects of the heat on that battery because it's often well over 100F in there if not 130F. That 3.5 times above 77F. So if I take the 5 year estimated life and divide by 2 I get 2.5 years. Divide that by 2 and I get 1.25 years. Divide that by 2 and I get .625 years and divide that by 1.5 and I get 0.42 years or 5 months.
(did I do the math wrong?)

The issue is that my battery in the vehicle does not seem to follow that general rule and seems to degrade much more slowly. Like maybe 5% - 10% and not 50%
Capacity tests aren't revealing a huge drop in capacity after being in the vehicle for months at temperatures above 92F often.

So I was wondering if anyone who lives in those very hot places has kept their lead acid batteries out in the heat what their experience has been with longevity?

 

[Noneyabussiness]

I live in north Queensland Australia, rarly gets below 20°c , during summer it regularly sits at 40°c ... my batteries have happily lived in it for over 5 years with no noticeable drop in capacity ... they are ex forklift lead acid ( 660ah) ..

I think the important thing is watering and adjusting the final voltage to suit the temperature... thats my experience anyways..

 

[juveraeh99]

My aunt is looking for a cheap electric car for her work commute the leaf looks like a great option. The only problem is it will be charging outside and where I live it can get from 95-105 degrees fareihnheight in the summers. Any help snaptube vidmate would be very helpful.

 

[Texas-Mark]

I think the important thing is watering and adjusting the final voltage to suit the temperature... thats my experience anyways..

I agree. I'm in Texas and my batteries are outside in a battery box that is in the sun a lot of the day. I have about 4 1/2 years on this set, and they are fine.

 

[Substrate]

Has mostly to do with charging and temperature compensation. If you are relying on an SCC with only its ambient temperature to provide the necessary changes to the CV voltage, and your batts are being charged in a hot-box, the temperature compensation is not correct and the batts overcharge. It's why an actual battery-terminal probe for a temp-comp sensor is highly recommended.

Lots of other variables - lead acid that isn't fully charged sulfates faster in high-temps. But if you keep it charged that can be minimized.

Just starting your vehicle with a fully charged, albeit hot battery - and getting a subsequent quick topoff from normal driving will seem to be less harmful leading to what appears to be a breaking of the dire predicted low cycle life.

Moral is if you want to do even better, get a temp-comp probe on a terminal and take it to the next decade.

 

[Texas-Mark]

It's why an actual battery-terminal probe for a temp-comp sensor is highly recommended.

Yes. I should have mentioned I have a BTS on my battery bank.

 

[anadiner]

Watched some youtube videos on my heat/lead-acid battery questions. Learned: 1 OMG ignore youtube idiots LOL 2 one guy said heat made his inverter shut down so now I gotta worry about that.

 

[Texas-Mark]

one guy said heat made his inverter shut down so now I gotta worry about that.

I have a cheap "thermostat" with a temp probe (Amazon) that turns on an auxiliary fan if my inverter starts getting too hot. Never had is shut down yet, even when the temp in my shed was 120+ degrees.

 

[anadiner]

Hey looking on Amazon rt now for 1. Just ordered a watt meter cuz I gotta get a fan going all night. This muggy NC coast weather kicking my butt.
Thx for the info

 

[Texas-Mark]

Hey looking on Amazon rt now for 1

This is the one I got. It's 12v. Have to set the temps in Celsius, but they are cheap and work well. I put the probe in the inverter fins. Has a relay output, so it can switch various things including fans.

UMLIFE 2PCS Temperature Controller Module with Case, XH W1209 LED Display Digital Thermostat Module with Waterproof NTC Probe -50~110℃ Electronic Temperature Temp Control Module Switch: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

UMLIFE 2PCS Temperature Controller Module with Case, XH W1209 LED Display Digital Thermostat Module with Waterproof NTC Probe -50~110℃ Electronic Temperature Temp Control Module Switch: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

 

[Mcgivor]

Being in northeastern Thailand it's hot all year round 35-45°C, the first two banks I had were FLA, both began showing signs of lost capacity after around 600 cycles and had to be replaced at 900 cycles. They were usually deep cycled to get the value out of them because having a large bank for shallow cycling is a false economy, they die before their theroritic life expectancy simply due to heat.

Temperature compensation was used, but during the hot months the charging inefficiency losses, which manifest as heat gain in the batteries, increased the temperatures every day by a few degrees. After 2 weeks of 35°C minimum, 45°C maximum, the battery temperature would exceed 50°C, to compensate I used a water bath with cooling via a water cooler, which had positive results but attracted rodents, snakes and other critters seeking water.

LFP was the ultimate solution and zero maintenance, the cell temperatures are always below ambient, except perhaps equal to during hot spells but are able to tolerate those values much better than LA, the added benefit is they don't self heat.

In climates where it dose get hot, but has cooler winters, the annual average should be used and in those cases AGM are a better choice, but why? LiFePo4 are comparable in price now.

 

[anadiner]

Thanks for the info. So ur saying AGM rather than LFP? There r semi-cold winters here (NC beach). Mild compared to upper NE states. Summer is scorching hot tho. Like today is 99F with humidity that sticks to u.

My shed where batteries r gets very hot. Havent gauged it but can only stand in there few minutes.

So hot summer with cool winter = AGM. Correct?

Btw, Ive ran into a horrible problem having to get UL Listed products to meet my County Solar Ordinance. I couldnt find anything about a UL listed battery so giving this a try.

Its crazy btw. Had get UL cables, panels and OMG finding UL inverter was like pulling teeth.

Thz

 

[anadiner]

This is the one I got. It's 12v. Have to set the temps in Celsius, but they are cheap and work well. I put the probe in the inverter fins. Has a relay output, so it can switch various things including fans.

UMLIFE 2PCS Temperature Controller Module with Case, XH W1209 LED Display Digital Thermostat Module with Waterproof NTC Probe -50~110℃ Electronic Temperature Temp Control Module Switch: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

UMLIFE 2PCS Temperature Controller Module with Case, XH W1209 LED Display Digital Thermostat Module with Waterproof NTC Probe -50~110℃ Electronic Temperature Temp Control Module Switch: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Bought 2 with case and 2 fans. Still waiting on delivery.

 

[Mcgivor]

Thanks for the info. So ur saying AGM rather than LFP? There r semi-cold winters here (NC beach). Mild compared to upper NE states. Summer is scorching hot tho. Like today is 99F with humidity that sticks to u.

My shed where batteries r gets very hot. Havent gauged it but can only stand in there few minutes.

So hot summer with cool winter = AGM. Correct?

Btw, Ive ran into a horrible problem having to get UL Listed products to meet my County Solar Ordinance. I couldnt find anything about a UL listed battery so giving this a try.

Its crazy btw. Had get UL cables, panels and OMG finding UL inverter was like pulling teeth.

Thz

The mention of AGM wasn't to suggest they would be a better choice over LFP, just better in terms of efficiency in the LA chemistry group.

As long as sub freezing temperatures for extended periods are not common, LFP would be a viable option from a price perspective as they are superior in performance overall.

 

[anadiner]

Bought 2 with case and 2 fans. Still waiting on delivery.

Weird. My Amazon order for 2 temp controls and 2 fans u mentioned disappeared. Looked this up specifically to get the date.

Like poof.